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C. A; PRARAY 131111111111171.

No. 518,274. Patented Apr. 17, 1894.

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CHARLES A. PRARAY, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE I-IALFTO CHARLES R. MAKEPEACE, OF ASAME PLACE.

BUILDING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 518,274, dated April17, 1894, Application filed January 16, 1894. Serial N0.497.035. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, CHARLES A. PRARAY, `of the city and county of.Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, have invented a certain newand useful Improvement in Buildings ;4 and I declare the following to bea specification thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings.

Like letters indicate like parts.

Figure l is a plan yof the ground floor, with the walls and columns inhorizontal section on line oo 0f Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a plan of the secondiioor, with the pilasters in cross section on line y of Fig. 2. Fig. 3shows in side elevation one of the columns, the floor beams and themanner in which they are supported, the piers, and foundations, on whichthe column rests. In this ligure the iioor planking, girts, windowcapand sill, and the wall foundation are shown in cross section on line 2of Fig. 1 and it is seen how a continuous bearing is made from pier toroof. Figs. 4 and 5 are, respectively, a side elevation and a top planof a licor-beam and a column, to show how the former is supported by andsecured to the latter. Fig. 6 shows, in vside elevation and in centrallongitudinal section, a tie-plate to connect the ends of two abuttingfloorbeams and to hold them in. position upon the column.

My invention is especially applicable to the construction of mills andother large buildings and consists of the combination in a building, ofa series of columns, resting upon piers, Hoor-beams, wholly supported bysaid columns, and outer walls, which are independent of said door-beams,and erected upon separate foundations of their own, which walls serve asa shell or outer covering, but are provided with windows to furnishlight, all said parts being constructed and arranged as I will nowparticularly specify.

Inthe drawings, A A represent columns or posts, preferably of iron. Eachcolumn rests 5 B. Each pier B has its own proper foundation C.

The Hoor-beams D, E, at their ends, have a rectangular notch, best seenin Fig. 5, and 5o the column A is cut away to have two plane faces ofcorresponding dimensions and angle,

upon a metallic plate a, which lies upon a pier against which faces saidnotched ends of the licor-beams snugly abut. The ground ioorbeam D,rests upon the plate a, and pier B, as seen in Fig. 3. The floor-beam E,rests upon the segmental lips b b, of the column A, adjacent tothebottom ofV thel plane faces, cut away as aforesaid, and is alsosupported by the metallic capital or cap F, which has a circular openingof the same diameter as that of 6o vthe column, with flanges c, d, andbracket plate e, shown enlarged in Figs. 4 and 5. Said cap F also has aprojection or lug m, which fits into a corresponding mortise, cut in theunder side of the beam E. A screw bolt n, passes through the bracketplate c and a dog; iron p, which passes through the column A, eX- tendsalong the upper surface of the beam E, and has its end bent down, at aright angle, to enter a corresponding socket in the beam, as 7o shown inFig. 4. By these means the end of the beam E, is firmly held in placeupon the lips h b of the column, and in close abutment with the planefaces of the column. The inner ends of 'hoor-beams, which abut each 75other, are tied, as shown in Fig. 6, in which the two long verticallines, which are dotted, indicate a column or post, and the shortvertical dotted line indicates the abutting edges of the ends oftwobeams, the latter'being 8o v represented by the parallel dottedhorizontall lines. The beams are notched at their ends,

.as above described, so that only their edges abut each other. At thisplace, the column' is cut away to form four rectangularly disposed planefaces, the cylindrical surface of the column below being shown in dottedlines. The tie-plate G, has a square central aperture g which fits uponthe squared top of the col-v umn and a ledge h, h', upon the top andbot- 9o tom thereof, give it a larger contact with the column. .Saidplate also has the lugs 7c, to enter corresponding mortises in thebeams,

respectively, and the holes Z, through which screw-bolts pass up intothe beams., 95

TheiioonplankingH, is laid upon the beams, preferably at right anglesthereto, and the licor I is laid upon the planking, as usual.

- In Fig. 1 the solid lines ofthe iiooring represent the iioor properand.the dotted lines, roo parallel therewith, represent the planking.`

The wall is shown at J. It rests' upon a foundation K of its own.Pilasters L, preferably of masonry, are erected at intervals. These alsohave their own foundation, as shown by the parallel dotted linessurrounding them in Fig. 1. The pilasters L if made hollow, as shown inFigs. l and 2, afford spaces and tlues for heating or Ventilatingpurposes. Between the pilasters L are the Window spaces. In Fig. l, thewindow sashes are seen in position.

That part of the iiooring outside of the flooring H I can be laid at aright angle thereto. The planking, upon which said part of the flooringis laid, rests upon girts M, which project from the walls and around thepilasters. These girts are shown in Fig. I by dotted lines parallel withsaid walls and pilasters, respectively, while the said plankin g isshown by dotted parallel lines extending lengthwise of the building.

N represents the window-sills, O the window-sash caps and P the windowjambs.

The walls may be straight and plane surfaces if desired but preferablythey are bayed or angularly disposed. as in Figs. l and 2.

Having thus speciiically described the several parts of my improvedconstruction, I will proceed to explain the advantages obtained thereby.

In buildings, as commonly constructed, the door-beams and rafters aresupported, at their outer ends, wholly by the walls. It is thereforenecessary that the wallsbe built massive and strong enough to sustainthe weight of the floors and the loads upon them, as well as the weightof the roof, and especially in building mills, these walls must be verythick and massive, on account of the heavy machinery upon the iioors andthe great and constant vibration caused by the opjeration of suchmachinery. To insure the strength .and rigidity of the walls, thenumber, size and location of the Windows must be limited. These wallsare very expensive in construction, and, in case of fire, they are soweakened and injured, that they are generally pulled down and entirelydemolished, because rendered unsafe to again support the floors, the.,in case of the reconstruction of the factory.

In my improved method of construction.` it is seen that the Walls do notsupport the doors at all, nor the weight upon the floors,but arewhollyindependent thereof. They serve simply to cover in or inclose thestructure. They rest upon their own foundation, and serve to support thewindows and to carry their own weight and no more. Four great advantagesresult from this plan of construction. First, the walls are very muchcheaper, requiring less material. Secondly, they afford much greaterwindow space as the entire surface between the pilasters may be used forthat purpose, thus providing a much greater amount of light to theapartments within. Thirdly, in case of fire they are more easily removedthan the usual massive walls and the loss caused by their destruction ismuch smaller than that of the walls as at present built. Fourthly, thewalls are entirely free from all strain from within the building.

It is to facilitate the separation of the walls from the structure incase of contlagration, that I arrange the planking and floors, as shownin the drawings, so that there will be a natural line of cleavage w w,when the Walls fall, and thereby, the walls will not, in falling, carrydown the main floors, as is now common, but will be released therefrom.

By making the walls with a series of bays or angular projections betweenthe pilasters, they are much strengthened `to resist windpressure, thesaid pressure being thereby divided and distributed laterally, so as tobe largely received upon and resisted by the pilasters. The angularsurfaces of the wall thus become practically horizontal trusses. Thepilasters may be dispensed with, and columns or posts substituted forthem, if desired. In case of such bayed construction of the walls, Iprefer that the pilasters L, and the columns, A, should be substantiallyin line with each other.

My invention has the merit of great simplicity of construction and witha less quantity of material than heretofore necessary a stronger andmore rigid building is secured.

Theentire weight ofV the iioors and roof and of the machinery, or otherload upon the floors, is supported upon a series of columns, each firmlyresting upon a suitable and substantial foundation.

In buildings made of brick or masonry by the present method ofconstruction, the moisture, contained and held by the mortar andmaterial, is apt to cause the decay or rotting of the beam-ends. In abuilding constructed as I have above specified, this liability of rotand decay is Wholly obviated.

I claim as a novel and useful invention and desire to secure by Letters`Paten t- 1. In a building, a series of columns, resting upon properfoundations and adapted to sustain the floor-beams, in combination withfloors and licor-beams wholly supported upon said columns, and` an outerwall, inclosing said structure, but wholly independent thereof, andhaving a separate foundation substantially as described.

2. In a building, the combination of the columns A, each resting uponitsproper foundation, the beams D, E, resting upon ledges or iianges ofsaid columns and wholly supported thereby, the capital or bracket F,upon .column and having a lug fm, which enters a IOO IIO

mortise in the beam, and also having a bolt fn, passing through it intothe beam and the dogiron p, extending through the column and enteringthe beam, substantially as shown.

4. In a building, an outer wall, whose surface is made in a series ofbays or angular projections, in combination with pilasters,l0 cated atthe entering angles of said bays and columns located midway between thepilasters, respectively, and inline therewith adapted to support beams,substantially as de.- scribed.

5. The improved building herein described, consisting of the columns A,resting upon piers B, and pier-foundations C, the ioor beams D, E,adapted to rest upon ledges or flanges of the columns A, the capitals F,upon the columns, provided with means of fastening the beams E to thecolumns, the ooring H, I, the Wall J, resting upon a foundation K, andhaving pilasters L, resting upon suitable foundations, said wall J,being made with angular bays and entirely independent of the iioorbeams, substantially as specified.

CHARLES A. PRARAY. Witnesses:

WARREN R. PERCE, DANIEL W. FINK.

